Countries Begin Grounding Boeing 737 MAX 8 Planes After Crash

Image: PHOTO: Boeing 737-8 MAX. (photo via aapsky / iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)

by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:22 AM ET, Mon March 11, 2019

Update: March 12, 2019 at 2:20 p.m. ET

The European Union announced it will suspend all operations of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Europe beginning at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday.

"As a precautionary measure, EASA has published today an Airworthiness Directive, effective as of 19:00 UTC, suspending all flight operations of all Boeing Model 737-8 MAX and 737-9 MAX airplanes in Europe," the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said in a statement via CNN. "In addition, EASA has published a Safety Directive, effective as of 19:00 UTC, suspending all commercial flights performed by third-country operators into, within or out of the EU of the above-mentioned models."

The announcement comes after England and other countries grounded the planes, which have been involved in two fatal crashes in the last six months.

Update: March 12, 2019 at 11:01 a.m. ET

As a result of concerns regarding the safety of Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes following two crashes in six months, several additional countries have grounded the planes until a thorough investigation could be completed.

On Tuesday, England announced it would not allow the planes to fly in or out of the country, citing concerns from customers about potential problems. Norwegian Air also temporarily suspended flights with the 737 MAX 8, following recommendations by European aviation authorities.

"We have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace," United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a statement.

In addition, Australia, Malaysia, Oman and Singapore have all suspended flights into or out of their countries with the impacted Boeing planes.

After 157 people were killed when an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed in Ethiopia Sunday morning, aviation officials in China, Indonesia and Ethiopia have grounded the Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes in their fleets.

According to Reuters.com, investigators have found the black box containing the cockpit voice recorder and digital flight data from Sunday's crash, which was the second major disaster involving the Boeing airplane model over the last six months.

Officials are hoping the Black Box can help them understand the cause of the crash.

"Although we don't yet know the cause of the crash, we had to decide to ground the particular fleet as extra safety precaution," an Ethiopian Airlines spokesperson told Reuters.

Chinese aviation authorities suspended operations of their 737 MAX 8 planes Monday until they could work closely with Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States to ensure the safety of the aircraft.

Indonesian officials also ordered a temporary ground stop for all Boeing 737 MAX 8 until they are inspected. The decision comes after a Lion Air 737 MAX crashed in October, killing all 189 people onboard.

Cayman Airways also revealed it had temporarily grounded both of its new 737 MAX 8 planes.

Sunday's crash in Ethiopia took place six minutes after takeoff, with victims being reported from more than 30 countries, including eight Americans.

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